Myopia and Ethnicity Can Affect Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Risk

Myopia and ethnicity can increase primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) risk, according to a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Black, Hispanic, and Asian patients with myopia have an even higher risk for POAG compared with White patients with myopia, according to the report. 

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted a cross-sectional study using administrative claims data from 2019 California Medicare beneficiaries who were 65 years or older with California residence and active coverage with both Medicare parts A and B. The study aimed to identify how glaucoma’s association with myopia is affected by ethnicity. 

Among the 2,717,346 California Medicare beneficiaries in 2019, 1,440,769 (53.0%) were between the ages of 65 and 74 years, 1,544,479 (56.8%) identified as women, 60,211 (2.2%) had myopia, and 171,988 (6.3%) had POAG. The report shows that 430,597 individuals identified (15.8%) as Hispanic, 346,723 (12.8%) identified as Asian, 117,856 (4.3%) identified as Black, 1,705,807 (62.8%) identified as White, and 115,363 (4.2%) identified as other race and ethnicity.

The fully adjusted analyses showed that beneficiaries with myopia had 2.41 times higher risk of POAG compared with beneficiaries without myopia (odds ratio [OR], 2.41; 95% CI, 2.35-2.47). 

According to the multivariable models stratified by race and ethnicity, myopia was associated with higher risk of POAG in all racial and ethnic groups, but these associations were stronger in beneficiaries who identified as Asian (OR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.57-2.92), Black (OR, 2.60; 95% CI, 2.31-2.94), and Hispanic (OR, 3.28; 95% CI, 3.08-3.48) compared with beneficiaries who identified as White (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 2.08-2.21).

“Notably, there is currently minimal literature about the association between myopia and POAG among specific racial and ethnic groups,” according to the researchers. “The present study fills that gap by showing that patients with myopia from racial and ethnic minority groups in a large and diverse population have increased odds of POAG and particularly, severe POAG.”

Study limitations include the cross-sectional design and the possibility of misclassification due to using administrative claims data.